


Not a Clue

by PotterandEvans



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Lockdown AU, jily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27760615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterandEvans/pseuds/PotterandEvans
Summary: Lily stood in the doorway of the flat, looking at the boy in front of her. She had spent most of the last two years keeping her distance from the annoying piece of work, staying away from his ego mostly. “Come in.” She said, stepping away from the doorway to let him into the flat that she usually shared with Remus."Ah, so kind." James muttered as he walked inside, his heavy bag weighing him down. This really was not the ideal situation, for either of them. But he had nowhere else to go, so staying with Lily Evans it was going to have to be.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	Not a Clue

Lily stood in the doorway of the flat, looking at the boy in front of her. She had spent most of the last two years keeping her distance from the annoying piece of work, staying away from his ego mostly. “Come in.” She said, stepping away from the doorway to let him into the flat that she usually shared with Remus.

"Ah, so kind." James muttered as he walked inside, his heavy bag weighing him down. This really was not the ideal situation, for either of them. But he had nowhere else to go, so staying with Lily Evans it was going to have to be.

“I know Remus told you the rules of you staying here.” Lily said, closing the main door behind them. “But I’ll say them again. My room is off limits, you will not go in there. The bathroom stays clean, I shower in the morning. The kitchen stays tidy, no leaving dishes in the bedroom and then taking out like ten of them to clean either.” She put her hands on the hips. “I know quarantine has only just started, but please god, don’t break it because I will kick you out.”

James nodded along as she spoke, doing his very best not to roll his eyes at her rattling off the rules Remus had already gone through with him. But he was indebted to her for letting him stay in Remus' room for however long quarantine would be going on, since Remus wasn't going to be there anyway. "Stay out of your way, and pretend like I don't exist. Got it, Evans."

“Perfect. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” She said, turning on her heels and walking towards her room. She stopped in the doorway. “Also, don’t eat my food.” She scowled at him before closing the door behind her. 

"Bloody hell…" James groaned, moving to Remus' bedroom, which of course was spotless. He sighed as he dumped his bag on the bed before collapsing onto the mattress next to it. This was going to be a long few weeks.

Lily walked over to her computer, clicking a few buttons so that Marlene appeared on her screen.

“So he’s here then?” Marlene asked, a wide grin on her face. 

“Yes. I already want to kill him. Remind me how long this lockdown is meant to last, because if the answer is more then three days, you’ll be visiting me in prison.” Lily groaned, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Swanning in with just a duffle bag of stuff. He’s going to eat my food, I can see him doing it already. He’s going to use up my stuff and make it all smell of...boy.”

“You live with Remus, it already smells of boy!” Marlene sighed, laying back on her bed. 

“I live with Remus, who is the most un-boy boy I’ve ever met!” Lily groaned, tucking her hair behind her ears. 

"Lily, honey, you agreed to Potter staying with you because you have a kind heart and as much as you hate that prick, he would have been stranded. Just don't forget  _ why  _ he is staying there and it'll make you feel better because you're doing  _ him  _ a solid." Marlene said, kicking her legs in the air as she laid on her bed.

“Out of everyone at Uni to be stranded here, it had to be him.” She sighed and picked up her hair brush, running it through her hair. “Why did it have to be him? Why did his parents choose last summer to move to Spain? Spain, who just up and moves to Spain? Rich people move to Spain.” 

"So, his parents are rich." Marlene shrugged slightly. "So are Sirius', it's not unheard of, Lil." She rolled over so she was laying on her front. "Also, at least it's Potter that's staying with you, you can't deny he's fit as hell. You could be stuck with Pettigrew or someone."

“I mean, I can’t imagine being stuck with Pettigrew either, but still Potter is an arsehole.” Lily sighed, “At least you have Dorcas. I only have him.” 

"Who knows, maybe you'll end up in a torrid love affair. I've been telling you for years that there's enough sexual tension between you two to power a brothel." Marlene cackled slightly. "And I'm going to go now before you reach through this screen and punch me, besides Dorcas is cooking me dinner. Bye, sweetie!" She hung up before Lily could even get a word in. 

“I hate you.” Lily shouted at the blank screen. She sighed before she laid back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. 

\---

“How are you settling in?” Remus asked from his bedroom in his parents house. 

"If settling in is being very strictly told rules I already knew before having a bedroom door slammed in your face, then yeah, I'm settling in fine." James sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He'd already set his glasses down on the desk at which he was sitting because he had been rubbing his face so much at his current situation. 

“Maybe if you hadn’t spent the last few years asking her out with every opportunity that came across, maybe she wouldn’t have slammed the door.” Remus shrugged. “But it’s fine, she’ll settle down after a few days. You’ve got big boots to fill. I am fantastic.”

“I honestly have no idea how you cope living with her.” James groaned again, putting his glasses back on so he could see Remus’ image on his laptop clearer. “She’s so… Prickly.”

“We get on like a house on fire. We watch films together and read together and we even cook together. But she likes me. She doesn’t like you.” Remus sipped from his cup of tea. 

“Maybe I should cook for her or something,” James thought out loud, scratching his jaw. “Since I’m a pretty damn good cook, maybe I can win her over with food…” 

“Oh, so trying to win her over? You trying to woo her?” Remus smirked, looking off camera for a moment. “Your cooking is great. But whatever you do, don't touch her food.” He stood up suddenly. “Got to go.” And the camera turned off. 

James sighed and slumped forwards, resting his head on top of his arms as he came to lean against the desk after the screen went blank. He sat bolt upright when he heard a shout coming from the room next to him, a yell of ‘I hate you’. He licked his lips before getting up to leave his new room, knocking on Lily’s bedroom door. “Evans? Everything okay?”

Lily pulled open the door. “It’s fine.” She looked up at him. “Just talking to Marlene. Why? listening into my conversations?” She folded her arms across her chest. 

“I- No, I heard you yell through the wall.” He said, holding his hands up like she had a gun pointed at him. “I just- well, I wanted to make sure you were okay. Sorry for trying to be a nice guy.” He backed away from her, feeling pretty dejected that she had immediately become so cold and defensive.

“Right, I forget how loud Marlene makes me.” She shrugged, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Sorry, didn’t mean to snap…” Marlene said be nice, so she would be nice. “I’m going to make dinner.” She said, indicating to the kitchen.

“Please, let me.” James said, pretty shocked that she had actually apologised and was being almost… Nice. “I- Well, I’m actually pretty good at cooking and I’d really like to feel like I’m paying you back in some way for letting me stay here, so let me cook for you? I’ll wash up after as well.”

“I can-” She looked him over. “Okay. Sounds… Okay.” She said, unfolding her arms. 

“I promise it’ll be worth your while.” James grinned at the thought of cooking, he really did love doing it. His grandmother had taught him all he had needed to know before she had died, and he wanted to carry on her legacy of being great at cooking. “Any dislikes or allergies I should know about before I get started?”

“Not really. I’ll eat anything. Not fussy. There’s food in the cupboards, if you want to use that. I’m sorting out an online food shop in the next few days if you want in.” She said, heading over to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, there wasn’t much in but it would last them the next few days. She frowned, she was now thinking about them in plural, and sharing her food. She shook her head and sighed. 

“Sounds like a good idea.” James smiled again as he moved into the kitchen, peering into the fridge behind her to see what he had to work with. He leaned over her, his chest almost pressing against her back but not quite, and he grabbed a few ingredients to make a pasta bake. 

Lily froze feeling him right behind her, the smell of his aftershave moving over her. She bit her lip as he leaned over her taking the food out. She closed the door when he was done and stood staring at the closed fridge for a few seconds before moving away. “Right, I’ll umm... leave you to it… I’m going to sort out the living room.” She said, indicating to the attached living area which was already tidy. 

James grinned to himself as he started bustling around the kitchen, chopping up vegetables. He'd noticed the way she had frozen up when he’d leaned over her. It seemed his affections weren’t entirely one-sided… He placed a pan of water on the hob to boil, ready to add pasta to before turning back to the vegetables.

Lily folded some blankets up, placing them on the arms of the worn out sofa. She started organising the cushions and tidying up the place in general. She put a few books away in the large bookshelf, this was where all of her and Remus’ excess books went. She glanced over at James a couple of times as she did it, and pulled out her phone.  _ He’s making me dinner. What did you do? L. _

_ Nothing I did. _ Came a reply back from Remus.  _ In fact he suggested he start making you dinner to, and I quote, 'win you over'. R. _

_ Win me over? Bloody hell. I don’t want to deal with that. I barely want to deal with him at all. Murder me Remus. L.  _ She replied and put her phone back in her pocket. “Smells good.” She said quietly. 

"Thanks." James smiled at her over his shoulder as he stirred vegetables in a pan. "I hope you and Remus weren't saying too many awful things about me."

Lily scowled at him, “How do you know I wasn’t texting Marlene?” She said. She walked around the sofa and perched on one of the stools of the breakfast bar, watching him cook. 

"You always get a scowl like the one you have now when you're either talking at me, or about me." He grinned, looking back down at what he was cooking. "And if I know you, which I have a feeling I do, you'll have gone straight to the man whose room I've invaded to compare us."

“Well… You’re… You’re…” She sighed, brushing her hair back off her face. “Just shut up.” She said, looking away from him and down to the book she had open on the side. 

James merely smirked to himself, proud that he could read her so well despite how she had been pushing him away for years. If he played his cards right, he might actually get her to sort of like him by the end of lockdown. He tipped the cooked pasta into a tray, mixing in the vegetables and sauce. He transferred the whole lot into the oven after sprinkling some grated cheese on top. 

“That looks good…” Lily commented, looking over her book as he put the food into the oven. “How did you learn how to cook? I’ve seen Remus cook and I just assumed all of you boys would be bad at it.”

James snorted as he set a timer on his phone, moving to lean on the counter opposite her. “My grandmother taught me.” He shrugged, pushing her book up with his finger so that he could read the title, raising an eyebrow at her choice. “It was- Well, it was how I spent quite a lot of my childhood, learning recipes and the basics of cooking. She was a pretty renowned chef, in her day.”

“Wow, you listened to someone long enough to learn something from them? It’s unheard of.” She said moving the book away from him, when he looked at the title. “She sounds interesting. More interesting than you, obviously.” Lily said, but her inner voice groaned.  _ Panicking a little Lily? _

James quirked an eyebrow at her, standing up straight again. He felt a little hurt that she had decided to turn his answering of her question into a way to insult him. He couldn’t help that the hurt showed on his expression too, and that he had to retort. “Sorry for answering your question, Evans.” He pushed off of the counter and ducked down to the oven to check on the pasta bake, even though he had only just put it in.

“Well sorry for deciding to try and make conversation, Potter.” She said lifting her book and re-reading over the bit she had just read four times. 

James spun on the spot, his arms crossing as he glared at her. “Conversation? What, insulting me is conversation?” He spat, his brow furrowed in frustration. “I don’t know if it’s escaped your notice, but I am  _ trying  _ here. I know this isn’t an ideal situation for either of us, but we’re stuck in it. So can we please learn to live with each other?”

“Trying?” She groaned, closing the book and standing up. “I’m not doing anything, It was my idea for you to move into Remus’ room. I’m not going to leave you abandoned. But you really think all the years of you taunting me and taking the piss are going to suddenly be okay because you walked in the front door?”

“Evans,” James sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t think you- I wasn’t  _ taunting  _ you. I actually was trying to be your friend. All those compliments I shouted down corridors at you? They were genuine. But you always pushed me away and decided to argue. I know I’m not perfect and can be a bit of a prat sometimes, but I really just wanted a friend.” He shook his head and checked his phone to see how long there was left on the timer. “Not that it matters now.”

“Yeah right.” Lily snapped, walking over and angrily putting the book away. “Trying to be my friend. Right, sure. I get it, James, you don’t want to make it awkward for you living here, but don’t try and twist what you said. I get it, I’m not everyone’s type. But I’m fed up with boys pretending they like me and then just turning on me. I’m fed up with it all.” She snapped at him. “You’re not my friend, you have friends and so do I. Just don’t go pretending that you were trying to be nice. I get it. I don’t need it rubbing in my face.”

“Believe you me, Evans, there is no pretense here.” He said, pointing at his chest. “For fucks sake I’ve had the biggest crush on you since the day we met!” He shocked himself at his confession, stumbling backwards until he collided with one of the counters. “I- Shit.”

“Stop it!” Lily said, raising her voice. “I’m not doing this! I’m not dealing with this. Stop making this harder than it already is.” She groaned and stormed into her room, slamming the door closed. 

“Shit.” James repeated, once again pressing his hands to his face. He took a deep breath, sighing it out right as the timer on his phone went off. He grabbed Lily’s oven gloves and pulled the bake he had made out of the oven, spooning some of it into a bowl. He walked up to Lily’s room, knocking on the door. “Evans, I messed up and I get why you’re pissed. But you still need to eat, so I’m going to leave this outside the door and disappear. I’ll- I’ll leave you be.” He set the bowl on the floor and moved back to the kitchen to get his own before slipping into Remus’ room to eat alone.

After a few minutes, Lily opened the door. She picked up the food before closing the door again. 

\---

“It’s been three weeks Remus and I’m going to kill someone.” Lily said, her phone on loud speaker next to her as she lay on her perfectly made bed. 

“He wasn’t lying about his crush, Lils.” Remus replied, looking quite tired. “Has he really been avoiding you for three weeks because of what he said?”

“Stop talking about that. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if he’s in bloody love with me. I’m not interested. He just seems to wander out, make food and then cower off to his room again. I don’t know what would have been better, that or him being around all the time.” She said and sat up to sip her drink. 

“Love?” Remus raised an eyebrow at her, even though she couldn’t see him. “I don’t know about love, it was more infatuation from what I gathered... “ His voice trailed off, as he pondered something for a moment. “Just- Why don’t you talk to him? Try and bridge the gap so that you’re not just two people stuck living at odds with each other. What more harm could it do to at least attempt to be civil with him?”

“I didn’t mean he was in love with me, I mean even if he was, I wouldn’t be interested.” She sighed, lying on her stomach and turning the camera on. “How am I meant to do that? We have nothing in common, he’s a sports fanatic doing a degree in engineering, I’m a book nerd doing a degree in literature. There’s no way there could be a bridge large enough to bridge the gap.” Lily sighed, propping herself up on a pillow. 

“Lils, no offense. But that is the dumbest thing you have ever said.” Remus said, laughing softly. “James is one of my best friends. I’m more like you, a book nerd doing, guess what? A literature degree. If I can find things in common with him, you can. You just need to talk to him and figure out that beneath the ‘I’m such a wonderful human being’ exterior, he’s actually a decent bloke.”

“But you are a boy, it’s different. Don’t you talk about bloke things and, I don’t know, girls and stuff? I can’t do that. I hate football and although I can appreciate an attractive girl, that’s more Marlene’s expertise.” She said, rolling over and holding the phone above her. “I just can’t see how I can get past that massive fucking ego he’s got.”

Remus sighed deeply, running a hand over his forehead. “Lily… I’m trying to help. For three weeks I’ve been dealing with annoyed and angry texts and calls from both of you. But if you are both too stubborn to try and help yourselves, there’s nothing I can do.”

James knocked on Lily’s door, his signal that he had made dinner for her and left it outside her room before rushing back into Remus’ bedroom to mope alone. 

“Fine. Fine.” Lily said sitting up, her eyes flitting to the door. She hadn’t expected James to continue making dinner each evening for both of them, but it kept happening. “I’ll talk to you later.” She said and hung up the phone, dropping it on her bed. She opened the door, seeing the food and no James. She picked up her plate and walked over to Remus’ bedroom door. She knocked and waited. 

James had just sat down at the desk chair to eat when he heard Lily’s knock on the door, his mouth hanging open in surprise. It took him a second to kick his body into action but he managed it. He moved over and opened the door. “Evans,” He said, his voice fairly monotone and lifeless. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I didn’t know if you wanted to join me for dinner?” She said, she bit her lip as she looked down at the food. “There’s a BBC ‘Big Night In’, thing on tonight and it looks like it might be good…” She said, and looked up at him. 

“I-” He stared at her for a while before clearing his throat. “Yeah- Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll just…” He turned and went to pick up his plate, tucking his chair in as he went. If there was at least one thing he and Lily had in common, it was that they both kept things neat and tidy.

Lily watched him go to collect his plate, but didn’t wait for him before sitting in her spot on the sofa. She curled her legs up, tucking her feet under the blanket. She flicked the TV on with the remote, changing the channel to see it just starting. She looked back to check if James was coming over. 

James chewed the inside of his cheek as he walked over, perching himself on the sofa next to her. He sat as closely to the armrest as humanly possible, knowing she would probably want him to keep his distance, if the last three weeks had been any indication.

“This is really good. All the meals have been really good, thank you.” Lily said before taking another mouthful of the food on the arm of the sofa. She risked a glance at him before looking back at the television. 

“I figured if I didn’t cook, you wouldn’t eat.” He stated simply, staring at the TV but he wasn’t really watching. He wanted for them to get on, it’s all he’d wanted since they had met but he was done pushing for it. She’d made her point, he’d gotten the picture.

“I’d eat. I’m an alright cook, I just get bored easily.” She said with a small smile. She sat back, putting the food in her lap. “So… Remus told me off.” She said, her eyes still trained on the TV. “And I know I’m being... I’m being stubborn, my mum used to tell me off about it all the time.” She said, moving the food around on her plate. “I think I’m going a bit… A bit stir crazy with all of this, so we should… I should get over myself maybe…”

James looked at her then, his eyes wide. He realised she probably needed this, needed to get stuff off of her chest. “Remus is… Well, he’s been telling me off too.” He shrugged, looking back down at his plate.

“Maybe if we are the only people we are allowed to be around for the next… month.” She shivered thinking about how long it might be. “Well maybe we should, try a bit harder? Like eating dinner together. Or… Well, I know we are allowed to go on walks and stuff now… Exercise purposes, we could walk together. If you wanted…”

“Are you sure you want to be around me?” He asked dejectedly, still staring at his plate. “I mean, you made it pretty clear you don’t want anything to do with me, or be my friend or- Whatever…”

“Yeah, well Remus told me I was being stupid about that. That I got the wrong end of the stick…” She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked at the television. “I’m… I… I want to start fresh. No past, no heckling or shouting or arguing. No nothing.” Lily sighed and put her plate on the coffee table. She sat up on her knee on the sofa and put out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lily Evans.”

A small smile was pulling at James’ lips as she spoke, which only grew when she introduced herself to him once again. He also set his plate down, turning to her. He slid his hand into hers, shaking it. “James Potter.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr Potter.” She said, sitting back in her seat and picking up her plate. “You are a fantastic cook. I imagine the person that taught you was lovely.” She said, tucking her feet back up as some comedy act came up on the television. She laughed at a joke that was made before taking another mouthful. 

James didn’t feel very hungry anymore. He stared at her in amazement, his plate forgotten on the coffee table. He wasn’t quite sure what had made her have such a change of heart, but he knew he had to call Remus to thank him with his whole being. 

Once, she had finished her food, she placed the plate down on the coffee table. She mentally made a note to do the dishes later, for both of them. Lily yawned, resting her head against the arm of the sofa, moving her feet slightly so they were resting against James’ leg. 

James’ hand instinctively went to her ankle, resting against it. He bit his lip, his eyes flying to Lily’s face before darting quickly back to whatever was on the TV screen. He couldn’t quite believe his luck, that she was trying to fix things between them. It wasn’t quite his longtime wish that they could be more than friends, or friends at all. But it was a start.

Lily froze when she felt his hand on her ankle, she wasn’t sure if the panic in her was from the fact it was James, or more likely because it was the first bit of human contact she’d had in three weeks. She relaxed when she noticed he was watching the television, turning back to face the screen and settling again on the sofa. 

James actually managed to feel more at ease after a while, his back sinking against the sofa cushions. His thumb rubbed small circles on her ankle as they both watched the TV, he wasn’t even aware that he was doing it. 

After a few hours or sitting there watching television together, Lily moved to stand up and take the dishes. “This was nice…” She said, taking them over to the sink. 

“I can do that.” James said, getting to his feet. “I- Well I promised I would do the washing up when I cooked.” He said as he walked over to the kitchen after her. “You keep relaxing, I can sort this.”

“Come on, you cooked. Let me do the dishes.” She said filling the bowl with water. “I’m not… I don’t need you looking after me.”

“Evans, just-” He sighed, his eyes closing for a moment. “I can do it. Again, I said three weeks ago that I would do the washing up so let me do it.” His hand reached out for the washing up brush, snatching it before she could.

“Potter-” She started but saw him with the brush. “Fine. Fine.” She said, brushing her hands on her jeans. 

He’d gotten into a routine over the last three weeks, and he hated breaking routines. He’d come to enjoy washing up dishes, he found it therapeutic to scrub away at the plates and pots and pans. Almost like he was trying to scrub away how infuriated he was with Lily. 

“I’m going to go to bed then…” Lily said, looking over at James before turning away. “Night..” She said and headed straight into her room, closing the door behind her. 

James groaned and dropped the brush into the soapy water, his elbows landing on the edge of the counter as he buried his face in his hands. He’d pushed her away, again. _ Bloody well done _ , he thought to himself. 

\---

“So I haven’t heard from either of you all week. Who’s dead?” Remus asked on a group video chat with James and Sirius. 

“Well, Evans has- She’s made attempts with me, is all I can really say.” James shrugged, seated in front of his laptop at Remus’ desk. “So there’s that at least.”

“I’ve been far too busy shagging.” Sirius smirked, even though both James and Remus knew there wasn’t a lick of truth to his words. “Honestly, you wouldn’t believe how much sex I’ve been getting.”

“That’s better than last week…” Remus said with a small shrug, he rolled his eyes at Sirius. “Sirius, you really don’t have to lie, mate. We’re all in the same situation, if you have nothing to contribute, please feel free not to.” He said with a yawn and rubbed his eyes. 

James snorted at that, laughing even harder when Sirius stuck his tongue out at Remus, slumping back in his chair and pouting. “Anyway, Sirius shagging nothing but air aside… Has Evans said anything to you, Remus?” His cheeks were pink as he asked.

“Oh Evans, Evans, Evans…” Sirius said, rolling his eyes. “I should have known this would happen when you said you were going to be staying there. Just shag the girl and be done with it.”

“Yeah,” James said sarcastically, his eyes narrowing. “Because that’s how to win her over…”

“Sirius, stick with your relationship with your right hand.” Remus said, rolling his eyes again. “No, she’s not said anything other than the books we’ve been reading. Nothing about you…” He said and picked up his cup of tea, taking a sip. “Have you been going on walks together?”

"Yeah." James sighed, his arm moving to rest under his head. "But the conversation always feels forced. Like she uses all these starter questions and doesn't just- Doesn't just let us have a normal flowing chat. All she does is ask about me, I haven't managed to get her to talk about herself  _ once.  _ It's infuriating."

“James, that’s Lily in a nutshell.” Remus laughed. “You just summed her up. She hates talking about herself in any way shape or form…” 

James checked his watch and sighed. "I've got to go, if I want this roast dinner to be ready at a reasonable hour I've got to get it started. Enjoy your appointment with your hand, Sirius. And Remus, cheers for putting up with my Evans bullshit again."

The door opened to Remus’ bedroom and Lily stepped in. “Did you eat my chocolate?” Lily asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at James. 

“Say no.” Remus said through the screen. 

James quickly clicked his mouse to end the call before spinning his chair around, looking over at her. "Evans, we have a rule about bedrooms. I've abided by it, so please, knock."

“Did you eat my chocolate? Because it was in the cupboard and it isn’t anymore.” She said, folding her arms. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. 

“No, I didn’t eat your bloody chocolate.” He said as he stood up, starting to pick up some stuff he had left strewn on the floor after rushing to answer the call from Sirius and Remus. “You probably ate it and forgot about it.” He didn’t notice her red eyes, far too irritated that once again she was having a go at him for the tiniest thing.

“I ate it?” Lily said angrily. “Don’t piss me about, Potter.” She said and stormed out of the room, starting to look through the kitchen cupboards. 

“For fucks sake.” James muttered to himself, throwing the things he had just picked up onto the bed and thundered after her. “I’m not pissing you about, Evans! I didn’t eat your bloody chocolate! Unlike you, I have stuck to the rules  _ you  _ made when I turned up here!”

“Don’t shout at me.” Lily said with a raised voice. “I’ve stuck to the rules, I knocked you just obviously didn’t hear me.” She started looking in the back of the cupboard. 

“Oh, but you can shout at me?” He cried back at her, his hands flapping around as he gesticulated angrily. “Wow, playing fair here, Evans! Don’t be so bloody one-sided! I was minding my own business when you stormed in and started accusing me of stealing shit I didn’t even know you had!”

Lily turned to look at him, her puffy eyes now on show. “One-sided? I’ve  _ tried _ with you. I always try, I keep asking you questions and trying to make this, this thing, happen. I’ve tried for god’s sake.”

“And I’ve answered!” He retorted, his hands tugging at his hair. “But you just brush off my questions about you, ignoring the fact that quite clearly one of us cares more than the other about this ‘thing’ as you so delicately named it.”

“This thing isn’t anything. What do you want me to call it? It’s not a friendship. We’re not friends.” She said and wiped at her eyes. “I’m trying. But you can’t expect me to be like every other friend you have. I don’t work the same.”

“So let me learn!” He urged, moving closer to her. “Let me learn how to be your friend, how you work.” He sighed, taking a deep breath. “I- I just want to get to know you!”

“Right now, you need to know that I need chocolate.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Then I’ll try a bit more.”

James moved into the kitchen, probably stomping his feet more than usual as he was still incredibly frustrated. He started looking through the cupboards that she had just ransacked, rolling his eyes when he found a bar of chocolate tucked away in one of the highest cupboards. He held it out to her. “There. Happy now?”

“Yes.” She took the chocolate from him carefully. “First thing you need to know about me. Once a month, hide.” She said, opening the chocolate and taking a bite. 

James softened a little at that, still feeling quite bristly though. His hand caught her wrist. “Evans, for future reference…” He managed a soft smile, his head cocking to the side slightly. “I’m allergic to chocolate. It gives me migraines. So I won’t ever eat yours.”

Lily blushed at his touch. “Good to know, I think I have trust issues with living with Remus.” She said and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m going to go and turn myself into a burrito, and make sure I don’t storm into your room again.”

“Right.” He said, letting go of her wrist. “If- If uh, you need me to get you anything, painkillers or a hot water bottle or something, just text me. I’m making roast for dinner, so hopefully that will- help…”

“I’d like that…” She said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Thanks… James.” She said before nodding and heading back to her room. 

He couldn’t help but smile when she said his first name, he was pretty sure she had never done that before. He went over to the fridge, grabbing everything he needed for their dinner.

Lily remerged an hour later wrapped in a blanket, she walked forward and curled back up on the sofa, pulling her legs up to her chest. “Smells good.”

James was just finishing plating up, so turned to her and smiled. She looked a lot better now that she’d had her chocolate. “Do you want gravy, love?” He asked, holding up the jug of gravy he had made.

It had taken Lily a good while to get used to James calling her love, but she had come to assume he said it to everyone. “A little bit.” She called out from her bundle. 

“Alright.” He turned back to the plates of food he’d prepared. He’d always taken great care in his presentation, making sure the plate looked pretty. A side effect of having a chef for a grandmother. He poured a small amount of gravy over Lily’s food, pouring a bit more on top of his. He carried the plates over to the sofa and placed them on the coffee table before heading back to the kitchen for cutlery.

“I haven’t had a roast dinner in months.” She said, putting the blanket back and sitting up on the sofa. “Are you some kind of superhero?” She said with a small smile at James. 

“No, Evans.” He chuckled, sitting down next to her. “Just a regular guy who’s good at cooking.” He grinned at her, his plate balanced on his lap. “But I must say you viewing me as a superhero will have done nothing for my ego which you like to talk about all the time.”

“Of course. Can’t be doing that.” Lily smiled, flicking the tv on to some random show. “Just some regular guy. Got it.”

“Don’t forget the ‘good at cooking’ part.” He smirked, taking a bite of his food. He watched the show on the TV but as usual, he didn’t really pay attention to it.

“Never could.” She said, starting to eat the food. They continued to eat in silence, watching the TV show.

When they were both finished, James took their plates through to the kitchen to wash up. He froze when he looked around, wincing when he realised and remembered just how much mess a roast dinner left behind. 

Lily looked over to see him looking at the dishes. She stood up and walked over. “Right, you wash, I’ll dry and it’ll be done ten times quicker.” She said and grabbed a tea towel. “Come on, Potter.”

He wanted to tell her that he could do it, but he knew she was right. He was pretty tired after their argument and having done the cooking, so he simply nodded as he turned the tap on. “Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”

Lily flicked the radio on as she started to fill the sink, turning the music up. She danced around while waiting for the first dish, after a few moments she started singing along as she dried the items. 

James grinned as his eyes kept flicking between the dishes he was washing and Lily’s face as she sang along to the radio. He knew his cheeks were burning red, he could even feel his ears glowing but he didn’t care. She was so carefree and happy and it warmed his heart. “You have a beautiful voice.” He said, as nonchalantly as possible.

“Oh, shut up.” Lily said, throwing some of the bubbles off one of the plates at him. A blush ran across her cheeks as she moved to try and put a plate back in one of the high cupboards, standing on her tiptoes she struggled to reach. 

“Just being honest.” He smiled, looking over to see her struggling. “Here, I got it.” He walked over and took the plate out of her hand, putting it away easily. He suddenly realised he was standing very closely to her, his hand still above his head resting on the plate as he looked down at her.

Lily froze in between him and the counter. She was looking up at him, her hips almost touching his. “I umm…” She started. “I’m going to get an early night…” She said and forced a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow…”

“Right…” He said, taking a step away from her, moving back to finish the washing up. “Goodnight, Evans.” He murmured as he stuck his hands back in the soapy water, vigorously scrubbing at one of the pots he had used to cook the vegetables.

“Goodnight.” Lily said and quickly made her way to her room closing the door behind her.

_ I heard you on that video chat, Lupin. Could have told me he didn’t eat chocolate. L x _

_ I told you that you have to learn these things yourself, Evans. R x _

_ I’ve learnt a lot. L x _

_ Oh really? Has he succeeded in winning you over finally? R x _

_ Don’t you start. He’s nice… He smells nice. L x _

_ Aaaaand, that’s too much information for now. Enjoy your evening, Lil. R x _

_ I hate you sometimes. L x _

_ \--- _

“Evans!” James called through the bathroom door, tapping his foot in irritation. “I also need to shower and at this rate it’s going to be a cold one if you don’t hurry the hell up!”

“I’ll be out in a minute!” Lily called back, still washing her hair. 

“I have a call to get to in five minutes! Hurry up!” He shouted through the door. The call really wasn’t for fifteen minutes, and it was only with Sirius and Remus but Lily didn’t have to know that. 

“Your damn hair doesn’t have to look perfect for every zoom chat you do!” Lily called out, rinsing the rest of her hair before turning off the shower. “I should be able to have a peaceful shower in my own damn flat!” She wrapped a towel around her hair and then another around her body. She opened the door. “Happy?”

“Not really!” He growled at her, his arms crossed over his chest. He really tried to ignore the fact that she was only wearing a towel in front of him, water droplets still clinging to her skin. “You’ve been in there for ages! You are so…  _ frustrating _ sometimes!”

“I’m frustrating?” Lily asked angrily. “I told you from the start, I shower in the mornings, something you have to get used to. I can take as long as I damn like in my own damn shower!” She said, raising her voice. “It’s a shower. I can take as long as I like.”

“But when I spend longer than five minutes in the bathroom, I get my ears yelled off!” He snarled back at her. “You need to quit with these double-standards, Evans!”

“Yeah, when you don’t tell me you are getting in the shower and I need to use the bathroom, of course I’m going to be angry. You know I shower at eight thirty every day. You know I'm in here till nine thirty. What’s the problem?” She rolled her eyes, holding her towel around her. 

“Because it’s ten!” He brandished his phone at her, showing her the time. “Don’t try and use your schedule against me when you’ve been in there for an hour and a half!” He couldn't help it when his eyes drifted down slightly, watching as a drop of water slid down her shoulder and to her chest.

“Eyes to yourself.” Lily said and pushed past him, heading to her room in a huff. 

James rolled his eyes and walked into the bathroom, finally getting his shower. But he had been in there for all of a minute before the water turned ice cold. He let out a yell which was an embarrassingly high pitch. He switched the shower off and jumped out, wrapping his towel around his waist as he stormed out of the bathroom. “EVANS!”

Lily had managed to pull on her underwear and jeans when she heard the shout, she grabbed her shirt doing up the buttons as she opened her door. “What now?” She said, still doing up her buttons.

“The shower is ice cold!” He yelled, thundering over to her. Once again his eyes darted down but he managed to look back up into her eyes quickly. “You used up all of the hot water with your long bloody shower!”

“I told you I shower in the morning, it’s my flat. You can shower in the evening.” She said, finishing doing up the shirt and folded her arms over her chest. “I pay for the water, I get to have a long bloody shower if I want a long bloody shower.”

“Once again it's seemed to slip your mind, sweetheart, that while my name isn’t on the lease, I am still living here! I have every right to take a shower when I need one.” His hair was plastered to his face, water still dripping down his bare torso as he argued with her once again. “I am so sick of you acting like I’m here freeloading when I’m just trying to exist! I have  _ nowhere _ else to go!”

“Neither do I! We’re both stuck here. I get it, but if I want a long fucking shower, why can’t I have one!” Lily said, moving her hands to her wet hair. “Look, I’m sorry alright.” She said stepping forward so she was close to him. “I’m sorry I used up all the water. It wasn’t to spite you.”

He stared down at her, totally not trying to ignore the fact that her hair was soaking her shirt, making it cling to her body. “You need to remember that I’m human, Evans!” James argued. “I also have needs and wants and I  _ needed  _ a shower. I went for a run this morning before you hauled your arse out of bed and sorry if I didn’t want to stew in my own sweat all day!”

“Well I’m sorry I forgot that you chose to get all sweaty by going for a run on the hottest day of the year.” She said and rolled her eyes. “Think about it, it’s not just me that caused this situation to happen.” She looked over his chest, which was covered in water that was dripping on the carpet. 

“Oh, I’m sorry for trying to stay fit during this hell!” He spat at her. “You know I go running! I don’t care if it's the hottest day or the coldest, I’m sticking to my routine. There’s a reason I went early this morning so that I didn’t die from the heat! Not all of us can look bloody perfect the instant we roll out of bed like you.”

“Oh, so I’m not staying fit am I?” She said angrily. “Are you calling me lazy?” She said, trying to stand up taller. “Like you can talk? Isn’t your whole damn look based on ‘I woke up like this’?” She said, her fists clenching. 

“Not staying fit? Evans, you’re the fittest girl I’ve ever seen!” He shouted, not the way he had expected to compliment her. “You always look so radiant and beautiful even when you’re feeling terrible!” The argument had definitely taken a turn away from a lengthy shower. “I can barely breathe when you walk in the room!”

Lily looked over his face, listening to what he was saying. She stared at him before stepping forward and pressing a hard kiss against his lips. 

James froze when she kissed him, but he very quickly responded, his eyes closing as he kissed her back. His arms slid around her waist as he pulled her closer.

Lily had her hands on his bare chest, feeling the water beneath her fingers. She continued to deepen the kiss, tilting her head up to get a better angle. 

One of his hands slid up her back to tangle in her hair as he kissed her passionately, stepping forwards so that she was pressed up against the door of her bedroom. He was very aware that he was in nothing but a towel, but also he was finally kissing Lily Evans, he wasn’t worried about a bloody towel.

Lily broke the kiss, moving her chin back but keeping her face close to his. “I-I…” She tried to say something but struggled. “James, you're in a towel.”

“I don’t care.” He muttered as his lips slid to her neck, his body still pressing hers up against the door. “I really… Really don’t care.”

“James…” Lily said, her voice just a whisper as she gripped his shoulders as he kissed her neck. Her hands moved down his chest, to grip the towel around his waist. 

“Lily…” He groaned at her touch, moving back to rest his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. “I… I’ve wanted to do this for so long, but… I need this to not just be a one time thing. Please don’t let it be a one time thing.”

“You really think I’m that kind of girl, Potter?” Lily smiled, one hand moving to open the door behind her. She turned around and pushed him into her room, kicking the door closed behind them. 

“Where the hell is James?” Sirius asked Remus on the video call. 

“Not a clue.” Remus said, sipping his tea again. 


End file.
